You Can't Take the Sky From Me
by my own patronus
Summary: Glee/Firefly AU. 500 years in the future, humans have inhabited other planets in a solar system after ruining the earth. When Kurt and Finn's parents die in a crash, they gather together a ragtag crew to smuggle contraband across the system in their ship, an old Firefly class called the New Direction. (Featuring some Samcedes, Klaine, Britanna, Finchel)
1. Introduction

_Here's how it is: The Earth got used up, so we moved out and terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths. Some rich and flush with the new technologies, some not so much. The Central Planets, thems formed the Alliance, waged war to bring everyone under their rule; a few idiots tried to fight it. I was too young at the time, but now I'm doin' everything I can to stop them. I'm Finn Hudson, captain of the New Direction. She's a transport ship; Firefly class. Got a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even got a couple of extras - a companion and a doctor. Pretty good at their jobs, like we are at ours. You understand how it is - can't make any decent money without a ship. If you got a job that needs doing, we can do it, don't much care what it is._

* * *

**Finn Hudson, captain**

A few years back, Finn's mom got remarried, and this guy she married fixed up ships. Finn never quite got the hang of how to make one run smooth mechanically, but he really knew how to work the human aspect of a ship.

But then his mom and step-father got in a bad crash, and neither made it out. Suddenly, it was just Finn and his step-brother, Kurt. They didn't know what to do, so they did the only thing that made sense to either of them. They got a ship. She had to be old and broken for them to afford her, but it was okay because Kurt could fix even the most desperate of engines.

Once she was up and running, Finn started scouting out people to fly with him. First, of course, he went to his friend, Puck. The two had been running together and causing trouble on their planet since they learned to walk. And Puck was perfect for what Finn had in mind.

See, owning a ship is good and all, but they couldn't make any real money honestly - they weren't qualified and didn't have any of the right connections. But they did know of a couple dishonest folk who might need an innocent looking ship to transport their goods. They were looking into transport. Of the slightly, possibly illegal nature. And Puck was their muscle, protecting them with his idiotic bravery in case anything got too messy.

As good as Finn was at running the inside of the ship, he and Kurt were brothers. And brothers were always likely to get on each other's cases. It took four months of petty disagreements and loud arguments before Puck finally had enough. They were stationed on a southern planet, not the richest, but a nice enough place. Puck simply stalked off of New D and walked through the village. He came back three hours later with Sam.

Sam was exactly what they needed. He wasn't bright, as he'd been working on the family farm instead of going to school ever since he could walk, but he could settle any argument, calm any room, and he was a damn good tactician.

After another couple of months, Finn realized that they needed to expand their crew a bit more, even if they couldn't exactly afford it. They were getting more and more jobs, and some of them were pretty dangerous. There had been more than a few close scrapes, and Finn wasn't nearly adept enough as a pilot to get them out unscathed.

So they started asking around.

This time it was Kurt who found the answer to their problems - both the pilot one and another problem that they hadn't even anticipated. He found Mercedes Jones, a big, outspoken woman, who happened to be one of the best pilots in the system. She was able to make the New D fly in ways they didn't think she was capable of.

But the best pilot didn't come for cheap.

And that was where Kurt's other solution came into play.

One afternoon, a tall, tan woman followed him onto the ship. She was wearing a shirt that covered only as much as it needed to, and her long skirt had a slit that went miles up her thigh.

"Damn, Kurt, I didn't think the ladies were your thing," Puck commented, his eyes trailing over the woman's body greedily.

"They're not, and that's not what this is about," Kurt replied shortly. "Santana needs a way to get around the system in order to see all of her clients. We need more money. She's going to rent out one of our shuttles."

And just like that, the New D's crew grew by two. With Santana's rent money, they were able to afford Mercedes' services as a pilot. It took some adjustment, but soon the men were able to accommodate to living with women again, and soon they couldn't imagine living any other way.

After almost two years together, the first big tragedy hit. They were stopped at a pretty rich, lush planet to pick up some medicine. Sandy Ryerson wasn't the most trustworthy man, everyone knew that, but a job was a job. Santana had finished her work with her client and retired back to the ship only to find that Sam, Finn, and Puck were still missing. Mercedes and Kurt weren't their usual gossipy selves, either; rather they impatiently waited in the bay with nervous looks on their faces.

"What happened?"

"They're not back. Rendezvous was fifteen minutes ago," Kurt replied tersely.

"Sure they didn't just get held up?"

"They would have let us know somehow. Something's not right."

As if those were the words to summon the other men, the three that had been out came staggering up the deck, Puck in the middle and supported by the two others. In any other situation it would have been funny to see how incredibly lopsided it was - on one side was Finn's gigantic form, while Sam's more average height supported the slightly-taller Puck on the other.

"What happened?" Mercedes said, a note of panic rising in her voice.

"Some Alliance thugs were waiting for us. Apparently that rat Ryerson sold us out to avoid arrest. Puck got hit before we could get out of there."

They rushed him to the med room, but no one knew how to do much more than fix us bumps and scrapes - and a gunshot wound to the side was much worse than a simple scrape.

But fate seemed to favor the New D crew in odd ways, because it was that moment that a man approached the open gates.

Earlier in the day, he'd stopped by and asked if they could give him a ride. He would pay handsomely - anything to get off the planet and away from his overbearing father. Kurt, having the authority since Finn was out, had accepted and told the man to return later.

The man wanted to leave his father and his father's ideas for his life behind. He wanted to be his own person, rather than the doctor that his father fancied him to be. Thankfully, he had gone through full medical training before finally standing up to the man and leaving.

When Kurt saw him, he almost began praying to a God that he didn't believe in, because it truly seemed like a miracle.

"Please, can you help him?"

And just like that, Mike became a member of the New D crew. Being a medic on board a transport ship, where he got to witness action and adventure as well, was much more fulfilling than simply working at the Alliance's best hospital, like his father had planned for him.

New Direction and her crew might not be pretty. They might not look the most intimidating. But they were strong, they were smart, and they were a family.

* * *

**Kurt Hummel, mechanic**

Kurt grew up in ships. He was learning how to fly them, how to take them apart, and how to put them together at the same time that he was learning his ABCs.

When most people looked at the man, the expected him to be nothing much. They saw his lithe form, heard his voice, and learned his sexual orientation and assumed he was weak. But he was smart and fast and could sabotage any ship that came his way if he so desired.

When his father died in the crash, Kurt didn't know what to do. The ship's engine had been faulty, and Kurt blamed himself. He ignored that it wasn't a ship he'd ever seen before, and that it took place on a planet he'd never even been to because it was during a "special trip" for just his dad and step-mom. He knew more about engines than almost anyone else, and he could have prevented the crash.

So when Finn took charge, Kurt was relieved. He didn't have to think for himself. He could just do what felt best to him - and that was fixing up the old hunk of junk that Finn was so proud of.

Kurt didn't even notice at first what Finn was doing - assembling a crew and beginning an illegal transport business. Of course he'd heard of others who had done it and even met a few in his time. Once a young woman from one of those ships had stopped by his dad's shop to buy a replacement part. He'd been in awe of the men and women who flew that old Firefly, but his dad had fiercely warned him to stay away from that sort of business because of the Alliance.

By the time Kurt figured out what was happening, it was too late to stop it and all he could do was make it better. So he found a nice, smart, level-headed pilot - and it was only an added bonus that she was a woman and he could relate to her in a way he couldn't relate to the rowdy men he'd been living with for so long.

He brought on Santana, too, who might not have always been the nicest or friendliest, but Kurt could sense that there was more to the companion that she projected to the rest of the world.

By the time Mike had joined their ranks, Kurt had stopped even thinking about any other possibilities for his life. This was where he was meant to be - in the sky.

* * *

**Noah "Puck" Puckerman, fighter**

Puck and Finn grew up together and bonded over not having dads. Both were alone and had to make their own male role models, and Puck ended up making a few wrong choices.

By the time Finn had approached him to ask him to join his crew, it had been nearly two years since the friends had last talked. Finn's mother had died, which changed the taller man. Puck had changed too, but differently. He'd fallen in with a rough crowd, and it wasn't uncommon to see him roughing up the wealthy visitors to get some spare cash or contraband to sell. He was already primed for illegal work when Finn proposed the idea.

Things were awkward at first, since Puck had never met Finn's step-brother and his first instinct was to rough up the kid because of how he looked and acted. But as soon as Puck got over that, he and Finn were back to being as close as brothers.

Of course, Finn and Kurt really acted like brothers, which meant that after living so close together for so long, they started to get on each other's nerves. Any time Finn had anything even slightly out of line, Kurt would shout at him or burn his food on purpose. And Finn started making Kurt do every last thing that needed doing on the ship. When he couldn't take the tension and hostility and longer - and when it began to affect their work - Puck decided to take some action. He stormed off and somehow managed to find the one man with a solid head for transport work on the farm planet they were parked on at the moment.

Kurt bringing in Mercedes, however, was what challenged the crew's unity the most.

From the moment the woman stepped aboard the ship, Puck knew she was judging them. She didn't approve of what they were doing or how they were doing it, and she certainly didn't think much of Finn's leadership.

"Finn… well, he might not be the brightest, but he's strong and brave, almost to the point of stupidity, and I ain't never seen a better leader in my time," Puck growled fiercely. "He and I have had each other's backs for years and I wouldn't trust anyone else."

He was ready to send the woman off and never think of her again when he saw the glint in her eye. It had all been a test. She wasn't going to risk her reputation by doing illegal work with a crew that wasn't cohesive. He knew she was going to work on New D, even before Kurt brought Santana on so that they could afford Mercedes.

From the moment he met Mike, Puck didn't trust the man. He was too inexperienced and naive. He didn't understand that the real world was nothing like the bubble he had grown up in, nor was it even like the images the Alliance had fed him throughout his privileged childhood. Puck was civil to the doctor because he had saved his life, but he refused to accept him as part of the family that the New D crew had become.

* * *

**Sam Evans, tactician and fighter**

Sam grew up on a farm. He went to school for a few years when he was real young, but only the brightest kids kept going past 12, and he wasn't one of the brightest. He wasn't wired for numbers and letters. He liked pictures and people - real, tangible things.

He worked in the fields like his parents told him to and watched over his little siblings, but always, Sam was thinking about something else. While he was gathering crops, he would sometimes stop and stare at the livestock. He could watch them for hours if he wanted to. He watched how the bull interacted with the sow, and how a bull would react if another bull entered his area. He learned their movements and how they fought each other.

When he would be watching his brother and sister, Sam didn't pay attention to the stories that they acted out with their dolls, rather he saw them moving in different formations in order to get around the barriers in the room.

It had been any old day baling hay with his Pa when the rough outsider with the mohawk walked up to their fence. Sam's Pa didn't notice the man, but Sam did and he watched him out of the corner of his eye. The man didn't leave his position at the fence all morning, and when Sam went over to take the heavy sack of feed for the cows at noon, the man approached.

"If you wanna talk or ask questions, it's my Pa you'll be wantin'," Sam said.

"Actually, I want to talk to you."

"Well then, you better follow. And watch where you step if you wanna keep those fancy boots clean," Sam huffed as he hoisted the sack over his shoulder and tromped over to the pen where the cows were waiting.

Both men stood silent and watched as the cows slowly began to gather in to eat their feed. Sam felt awkward in the silence and eventually began explaining what was happening with the bulls just to have something to do.

"That big one there, he don't like when the other bull comes near him. He don't really like him bein' around at all, but he ain't smart enough to catch on. He always goes for the small guy in the same way, and the small guy's figured that out. He knows the big bull's weaknesses now, and he knows how to earn his spot."

"You know a lot about them," the other man said.

"It's easy. They're just like people. Predictable. They like patterns, and they stick to their ways. As long as you understand how people work, how they attack, you can beat 'em."

"I like how you think. You're strong, too." It almost sounded as if the other man was speaking to himself rather than to Sam, but Sam listened anyway, shifting his gaze away from the cows for the first time. "Interested in a job?"

"A job?"

"Yeah. Me and some others, we fly a transport ship. You seem like you'd do okay there."

"But - my family, I can't just leave them."

"Why not?"

"_Why not?_ Because they're my family! They need me! We can barely afford to keep the farm as is, and if I leave -"

"If this is just about money, then that's not problem. We get paid pretty well, and you can just send your share back to them."

"But -"

"Tell me you've never wanted to get out of here. Convince me, and then I'll leave you alone."

And that's how Sam ended up aboard New Direction.

* * *

**Mercedes Jones, pilot**

Mercedes didn't really know how she ended up as the pilot aboard a rickety transport ship that brought illegal contraband from one end of the system to the other. But she loved every second of it.

Of course, she knew there were plenty of crews trying to make a living like that, and most of them wanted her - the daughter of a decorated military pilot. So why she had to choose the most ragtag bunch when she could have been living like a queen was illogical. But then again, that whole process had been illogical.

First, Kurt had managed to not only send her a message, but actually show up at her door. Then he charmed her and made her fall in love with him (if only he was straight!). Then he took her to New Direction, and even though it looked pretty run down from the outside, the second she stepped inside, it felt like home. And how everyone on the ship treated each other - that was amazing. It was four men - three were the traditional 'man's man' and yet they loved and respected Kurt. They were all there for each other like a family.

And, of course, there was something really comforting about sliding into the seat in front of New D's controls. It felt like returning home. The technology was a little outdated, but it was just… right.

Of course, despite all that, Mercedes had to keep up her front. She didn't want to let these guys think they could cheat her or walk all over her just because she was a woman. But she was so, so glad when Kurt solved the money issue and brought on Santana.

...Until she met Santana, of course. They cohabitated well enough, but despite being the only two women on the ship, they did not form a bond or any sort of camaraderie. Santana was a little too much for Mercedes' tastes in every which way - she was loud, she was crude, and she didn't censor herself at all. And yet somehow, it was endearing - once Mercedes got used to it.

One person that Mercedes didn't have to work to get used to at all, other than Kurt of course, was Sam. From the moment she had stepped aboard, the simple farmboy had caught her eye. And underneath his wholesome and goofy exterior was a brilliant tactical mind, even if it revealed itself in an unconventional way. Not to mention, he was easy on the eyes, too. When the boys were late that one day, Mercedes didn't say anything about her worries for Sam because she knew that Kurt had to be feeling even worse - he'd already lost his mother, then his father and step-mother. The last thing he needed was to lose his step-brother, the last remaining member of his family. So she comforted him, when in reality she was fretting about dear Sam getting hurt.

* * *

**Santana Lopez, companion**

No one who knew Santana Lopez growing up would have been surprised to know she became a companion.

But of course, none of them really _knew_ what a companion did. Nor did they really _know_ Santana.

Sure, the sex was wonderful. But even better than the sex was everything that she learned. She held the dirty little secrets of some of the system's most influential men and women.

No, more than the sex, Santana loved the power.

Honestly, she thought that power and sex would be the only things she ever really cared about. Until damn Kurt Hummel came into her life and offered to rent her his shuttle. Because Kurt made her care about other people too. Kurt made her care about New Direction and her crew. And when Kurt did that, he opened up a place in Santana's heart that she had locked and forgotten about many years ago.

That was the day Santana chose her first female client.

* * *

**Mike Chang, doctor**

From the moment he was born - no, before then - From the moment Dr. and Dr. Allan Chang decided they wanted to have a child, it was decided. Their son or daughter would be a doctor. Perhaps a neurologist like its mother, or a trauma surgeon like its father, or something else. But the child would carry on the family legacy.

So Mike was treated to classical music in the womb, his parents never babied him or talked to him like he was any less than a MD. He was enrolled in the most prestigious primary school and excelled in all his classes. He was never any less than the best, just like his parents wanted. It took a long time before Mike realized that it wasn't at all what he wanted.

But he was too afraid to break away from the comfortable world he had grown up in, the only world he knew.

It wasn't until he had graduated med school and began working at a hospital that he let himself think. And it wasn't until he lost his first patient that Mike ran.

It was pure luck that he found New Direction.

At first he had just wanted to get away - from his parents, from his planet, from his job. But when Mike stepped on that ship and was immediately whisked off to the medical ward to save the life of one of the crew, he realized that perhaps he really was supposed to be a doctor. He just was never supposed to be so suffocated by his parents.

* * *

To say that the New Direction was a beautiful ship would make most men scoff. She wasn't pretty, at least, not if you didn't know how to look at her. She was an old Firefly class ship and was falling apart in more than a few places, inside and out. But those that knew her… well, to them she was home. She was more of a home than they had ever had before.

* * *

**a/n:** so this is just the intro to a piece that I'm planning to continue. Obviously, it's an AU of the TV show, Firefly. The text at the beginning is (largely) a direct quote from the series. There also ended up being a lot more parallels between the glee and firefly characters than I intended - I didn't want Finn to be Mal. In this universe, Mal and the crew of the Serenity also exist (maybe you caught that the woman buying the spare part from Kurt and Burt was Kaylee?). As usual, I don't own glee or firefly. Let me know if you think this is promising, or even things you might want to see. Reviews make me super happy!


	2. Chapter 1

When New Direction landed on Westerville, Santana sighed and got up. She knew she would have to coordinate with Finn and Sam so that she was back from her clients before they had to go. No matter how meticulously they planned their jobs, they never seemed to go smoothly.

Thankfully, things here would definitely be going smoothly for her. She'd visited clients on this planet several times over the years, and knew exactly what she needed to do. Of course, that was also before Santana had started being honest with herself. Before she had taken Lady Danielle on as a client and admitted that she felt nothing for any men.

Santana could see the forms of Finn, Puck, Sam, and Kurt growing smaller and smaller as she flew to the center of the city in her shuttle. She had two days here, and was going to make every minute count. Her first client was the mayor's son. She greatly disliked the mayor, who had no qualms about insulting her and her line of work to her face. But she had hope for the son.

The man had entered her shuttle looking deeply uncomfortable and out of place. "I'm sorry you have to waste your time with me. I told my father that I don't need his help, but…"

"I understand," Santana said, putting on the act of the kind and understanding companion. The first time Kurt had seen her play the part, he had stood dumbfounded in place for ten minutes - that was how Santana knew she was good.

"No, you don't. My father doesn't know, but I have - I mean, I'm not … I'm not a virgin."

"Why are you ashamed to tell your father that? If that would get him off your back, it seems that it would only work in your favor."

"No, you see," the man struggled for words, "my father - he doesn't know, but I - I prefer the company of men. Last month, a male companion came through here and I saw him."

"Ah," Santana replied. "Well, Dave, in that case, I'm not going to force you into anything. We can sit here and talk, and when your father returns, we won't tell him what really happened."

"Thank you," Dave Karofsky replied.

"What do you want to talk about?" Santana let her calm, kind act drop slightly now that she didn't have to seduce this man.

"Well, um, I know that as companions, you see a lot of people, so it probably isn't very special, but -"

"It was special to you and you want to see this guy again?" Santana finished for Dave, smirking slightly when he looked up at her in shock.

"Yes," he whispered.

"What's his name? I'll see if I can track him down for you." It shocked Santana, but she wasn't saying those words just because Dave, or rather, Mayor Karofsky, was paying her. She really did want to help this man.

"Brody."

* * *

Mercedes and Mike were seated at the dining room table, ready to relax all afternoon and play cards while the rest went into town to pick up the cargo for their next job. Kurt was heading in to go shopping and pick up some much needed supplies. Finn lead Sam and Puck over to a local bar - small, cramped, and dirty. Perfect for a clandestine conversation, and perfect for their meeting with Jacob Ben Israel. He's probably Finn's least favorite of the people that they deal with regularly, but beggars can't be choosers, and JBI contacted them about the job. At least Finn did a better job at concealing his rage and dislike than Puck.

"What's the take this time?" Puck barked at the slight man sitting across from them.

Jacob seemed to quiver in his seat and Finn mused again how he'd managed to never get caught. It was probably because he was so weak and pathetic that most people didn't think to suspect him. Or because he always hid himself behind bigger, stronger, smarter men than himself. Really, JBI was nothing more than a messenger, an errands boy who knew too much and was too nosy for his own good.

"It's nothing much. Just a few antiquities from earth-that-was that Sylvester is interested in for her personal collection. I managed to track them down, but you all know I don't do the grabbing or smuggling," the man wheezed.

"And what's the catch?" Finn demanded.

"What? No, it's nothing big. It's just - well, it's kinda in one of Clarington's warehouses."

"So you're telling me that we have to go all the way across this city dragging some giant crate of crap which we'll have to take from directly under the nose of one of the most ruthless men in the system?" Finn asked, incredulous. Who would be stupid enough to take a job like that?

"Yes, but Clarington stores his own personal collection there. So you could get yourself something extra. Plus, Sue said she'd pay double for the effort."

Double. Well, that was certainly motivation enough. Finn looked to Sam, who had been silent for the whole exchange, for confirmation before shaking JBI's hand. Once the smaller man had scuttled out of the bar, Finn turned to Sam.

"Any idea how we're going to pull this off?"

* * *

It was early in the morning when Puck, Finn, and Sam left to cross the city and collect the contraband. Sam's plan had been solid and simple. Take the other shuttle and decorate it a bit. Find Clarington Steel guard's uniforms. Simply walk right into the campus, unload the stuff from the warehouse, and fly away. They'd stay one more night, Santana would rejoin them, and then they could all leave for McKinley to drop the stuff with Sue Sylvester.

The smoke from the hot fires inside the other warehouse and factory buildings blocked out the sun, giving the entire factory campus an eerie atmosphere of perpetual dusk. No one paid too close attention to the tired workers, many of whom were scarred with burnt tissue, who labored at the site. They couldn't afford to waste their time. In and out. Quick and easy.

* * *

Inside the factory, men stood in front of large furnaces as they watched the metal melt and boil in the hot flames. One man collapsed to the floor, the heat of the flames too much for him.

"Anderson! Up!" a foreman shouted at his weak form.

The man dragged himself on to his feet and resumed his work at a sluggish pace. The foreman's eyes narrowed as he watched his back.

When Blaine left the factory at six that evening, he was even more exhausted than usual. His sister's condition had only gotten worse in the past few weeks, and he had stayed up with her all night last night. All he wanted was some cool water and a pillow for his head, but he knew that he still had work to do at home. Ever since Cooper had been killed in the war, Blaine had taken over. He'd dropped out of school and gotten a job at the factory just so he could provide a better life for his little sister, and now he'd failed at that.

The last warehouse, one that most of the workers called "Clarington's Treasure Chest" was right along Blaine's route home. Usually it was locked up and mysterious as ever, but not today. The door was open just a crack, and Blaine's curiosity got the better of him as he peeked inside.

The large room was empty of people, but certainly not lacking any adornments. There were shelves of porcelain and glass figures, antiquated weapons, books, machinery, gold, anything a man could dream of. And all of it was unguarded.

Just one small trinket was probably worth more than the shack Blaine and his sister lived in. No one would have to know where he got it, and then he could pay to send Vi to a real hospital.

His mind was made up. Blaine darted into the building, grabbed a small silver jewelry box, and ran the rest of the way home.

* * *

Sam headed back to New Direction early that evening after the successful completion of the job, with an excuse that someone had to watch over the ship - but Finn and Puck both knew that it was only so he could spend a few minutes with Mercedes. Meanwhile, the two other men headed back to the bar and knocked back a couple of pints before each being pulled onto the dance floor by a woman.

At one point in the evening, Finn looked down at the woman he was dancing with - he barely remembered her name now, was it something with an R? - and marveled at the simplicity of the moment. He wasn't a smuggler or captain of a ship, he was just a man. And she, the beautiful, short, brunette woman was just that: a woman. He leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss, and she whispered in his ear, "Want to go somewhere more private?"

On the other side of the bar, Puck was pushed close to a woman with short, blonde hair. She'd refused to give her name, and he liked it better that way. Just like the woman with Finn, this woman turned on her charms and lured Puck to a room above the bar - but that was when things changed.

"I know who you are," she purred into his ear, slamming him up against a wall. "And I know exactly what you do. So," and suddenly any note of seduction was gone from her voice as she took a step back and pulled out a gun, "if you don't want me calling the feds on you, you better take me to your ship and _convince_ me."

"Who are you?" Puck asked.

"Figures you wouldn't remember me," the woman said.

Seven years earlier when Puck was only 17 and Quinn was a bright-eyed, hopeful 15 year old, the older boy had seduced the younger girl. He'd been with a gang of his friends, traveling from planet to planet to get drugs and alcohol and have as much fun as possible without anyone watching over them. The next morning he was gone. Three months later, her stomach began to swell, and not long after that, she lost everything. After putting the child up for adoption, Quinn had trained to become one of the best bounty hunters in the system and swore revenge on Puck. Now she looked nothing like the innocent child she once had been, but she was better prepared. She wanted to strip Puck of his dignity first like he had done to her, and then she would call the feds.

Try as he might, Puck couldn't place the soft face in front of him. Quinn scowled and nudged him forward with her gun. He tried reaching for his own holster, but she was faster than him, her own reflexes not dulled by alcohol.

"Nice try," she said. "Now move."

Puck had no idea what to do. Finn was probably still somewhere with the chick he'd been hooking up with, and anyway, with Quinn so close to him, he wouldn't be able to go searching or chatting. But he didn't want to lead her to New Direction, either. So instead, he started slowly walking in a random direction, and hoped that a plan would come to him quick.

* * *

Finn and Rachel - he'd finally remembered the petite brunette's name - had decided to engage in some decidedly less exciting activities that evening. When Rachel had invited Finn somewhere private, he had not been expecting a walk in the nearby gardens, but there was something about the girl's innocence that was just so … endearing. He'd been living with his crude crew for too long, Finn decided. Rachel was a nice breath of fresh air.

"So what are you doing here on Lima?" Rachel asked. "We don't get too many travelers coming this way since it's mostly a manufacturing planet."

"I had a little business with an old friend to attend to," Finn vaguely answered. "My crew and I decided to stay the night before we take off tomorrow."

"Oh," Rachel said, obviously disappointed. "Will I ever get to see you again?"

"If business brings me back here, I'd like nothing more."

The grin that Finn got in reply to his statement motivated his next uncharacteristic and potentially dangerous action.

"Hey, here's an address that I sometimes check up on. I know it's kinda outdated and very earth-that-was, but maybe we could write?"

Rachel's eyes lit up. "It's just like in those old musicals!"

"Uh, sure."

"I'd love to. But - I'm really sorry, but my dads, they're a bit over-protective, and I have to be back home soon."

"Oh, sure. Of course."

"But I will write you. It was lovely to meet you, Finn." Rachel stood on her tiptoes so she could reach Finn's cheekbone and gave him a small kiss before hurrying off.

Deciding that his night was over too, Finn turned and headed towards New Direction.

* * *

Kurt was fiddling with the engine as Mike looked over his shoulder. He'd never learned many practical skills in his youth, but he was slowly learning.

"Now, if you ever hear her making this sort of noise," and here Kurt demonstrated a low grumbling, "it's probably coming from this piece here. It's a pretty easy fix, all you need to do it tighten her up and she'll be good to go."

"You know," Mike mused, "it's a lot like what I do. I mean, if you think of the engine as the internal organs."

"Um, sure. If it helps you to think that way, I guess so."

Kurt leaned back over the machinery and Mike looked on over his shoulder. They were in that same position ten minutes later when Finn reboarded the ship.

"Back so soon?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling up to bein' out late an' stuff."

"Well, Mercedes and Sam are 'talking' in Mercedes' bunk, but I think we all know what they're really doing. And Santana got back about half an hour ago."

"Great. Maybe we can leave earlier tomorrow morning, then. If Puck even comes home tonight."

Mike was clearly uncomfortable at the territory the conversation was about to enter, but Kurt had been living with the other two men long enough that he just laughed. "Ah, he met someone at the bar?"

"Doesn't he always?"

"You know, Finn, you look a little different tonight."

"What? How so?"

"I don't know. Just - happier, maybe? Calmer? Whatever. I'm going to patch this back up and then I'm heading to my bunk. Don't wake me unless you need to."

"Of course."

Things quieted down again as midnight approached. It seemed like New Direction's job had, for once, gone completely without hitch. But, of course, it was just the calm before the storm. Puck suddenly stumbled on the ship, followed by a woman who was holding on gun towards his head and the other out in front of her.

Seeing this, Finn jumped to action and pulled out his own weapon.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Quinn growled. "If you take one step closer to me, I'll blow your boy's brains out. So just do what I say, and then I'll be going.

"Hey, Finn, what's going o- Oh," Sam said, emerging on the main deck, closely followed by Mercedes. His words trailed off as he took in the scene in front of his eyes. "What's she want?"

"What I want," Quinn said slowly, emphasizing each word, "is whatever you've got. Anything of value. Just slide it my way, and I'll be going."

"You're going to need to put one of those guns down so you can take the stuff," Finn pointed out, trying to buy some time as he watched Mercedes scamper back into the ship, presumably to take up her position in front of the controls.

"All in due time."

"Let's just be calm and rational about this, okay? We don't need to resort to violence right now."

"I don't think you're in position to be negotiating," Quinn snapped back.

Sam stepped forward with a small crate that Finn recognized as one that was filled with some of the extra items they had taken from the warehouse that afternoon.

"Put it on the floor, blondie, and back off," Quinn ordered. Sam was quick to comply.

Quinn set down her guns, but kept them in close reach as she went to inspect her loot. Discreetly, she also sent a transmission from her pocket, alerting the feds that she had a few wanted folk. They'd be there moments after she left with her spoils.

Unbeknownst to Quinn, Kurt had quietly slipped behind her while she had still been holding the gun to Puck's head. As soon as she was in a vulnerable position, he took the opportunity. Kurt aimed a sharp kick at her midsection to slow her down, and then kicked both guns away.

In a flash, Quinn was back on her feet and aiming a sharp punch at Kurt. The lithe man was able to dodge the blow and lashed out at Quinn again. They both fell backwards over the crate, carried by the force of their blows and began wrestling for dominance on the ground. Finally, Kurt was able to overpower the deceptively strong woman, and he hovered above her.

"If you know what's best for you, you'll get off our ship and never bother us again."

Finn dragged Quinn to her feet and pushed her out of the ship before quickly raising the ramp and closing the airlock.

"Maybe we should get out of here now," he said.

Ten minutes later, the feds arrived at the spot where New Direction had been parked only moments before. They saw Quinn's bruised body and rolled their eyes.

"You know," one man said, stepping forward, "that transmitter we gave you isn't just so you can have backup when you get in your little arguments. Next false call come in and we're taking it away, got it?"

* * *

Across the city, Blaine walked nervously down a dark alleyway. He'd grown up in these dangerous streets, but it didn't make him any more comfortable there. The brick of the buildings surrounding him was so darkened by soot and smoke that they melted into the night. He turned a corner and entered a building that was lit with only a few candles.

"What do you want?" a harsh voice asked.

Blaine looked up at the man briefly before turning his head back down. Azimio Adams was the most feared man on the streets in Westerville, especially because he was friends with the mayor's son so he was basically given free reign as the mayor and his police looked the other way. In return, Azimio made sure that the only criminals working the streets were ones that reported back to him. It was corrupt, but it kept crime down.

"I - um - I have something to sell," Blaine said, voice quavering in the darkness.

"Oh? And what, pray tell, is that?"

Blaine carefully pulled the silver box from his pocket and held it out.

"Who did you steal this from, kid?"

"What - no, it's mine!" Even Blaine could tell that he was convincing no one.

"Come on, kid. If this was yours, you'd have sold it to me before when you sold everything else. So now you're going to tell me who you took this from and I'm going to decide if it's worth anything."

"Mr. Clarington."

"Clarington? You want to sell me property stolen from _Clarington_? You really must be out of your mind, kid. No one's going to want this if they think Clarington can trace it to them."

"Please," Blaine begged. "I'm desperate. My sister - she's getting worse. I just need enough to get her to a hospital -"

"Oh, and that won't be suspicious at all. Hows about this. I'll give you 100 credits. That's more than fair considering the trouble this is going to bring."

Blaine sadly nodded his head and accepted the deal, knowing better than to argue with the large man.

The next morning, Blaine bundled his sister up and walked with her to the doctor in the center of the town. The doctor admitted her to the small clinic and promised to treat her as best as he could. Blaine's 100 credits barely paid for it, but it was enough.

* * *

New Direction landed smoothly on McKinley several hours before they had planned to. The exhausted crew took a few hours to finally rest before bringing the cargo to Sue. The woman was just as pleasant as she usually was - which was not at all. She shouted at them for being late with the drop (they were early) and refused to pay them in full. Not wanting to get into another fight in such a short period of time, Finn accepted the money without argument and went back to the ship to pay his crew.


End file.
